College Basketball Needs A Two-Way Street

University of Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan has a lot going for him.

Two straight national championships, a recruiting class to kill for, and unbelievably enviable job security for a man who turns 42 in less than two weeks.

But Donovan has flirted with other jobs, including the University of Kentucky vacancy and a couple of NBA coaching openings.

So we'll give Billy The Kid props for a statement he gave The New York Times earlier this week regarding the inability of recruits to change their minds without penalty when the coach who recruited them bolts suddenly bolts for greener pastures.

"If a coach has the freedom to pick up and leave and go somewhere else, the kid should, too," said Donovan.

Currently, a player signing a national-letter-of-intent must sit out one season if he decides to transfer to another school.

Elite high-school players are also beginning to see the light.

Jai Lucas, a point guard out of Houston, waited until Monday to sign with Florida. Two days ago, Patrick Patterson of Huntington, W.Va., finally signed with Kentucky.

Both players waited for the coaching carousel to stop before committing their futures to a school.

Expect more of the same down the road. The early signing period, Nov. 14-21, benefits the colleges, which may or may not be employing the same coach when the next season begins, or even when the late signing period rolls around. The late signing period, April 16-May 21 next year, benefits the players.

Billy Donovan realizes it, and so do a growing number of teen-age basketball players. 